


red lips and rosy cheeks (say you'll see me again)

by ellalopez



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Carulia, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Friends to Enemies, Post Episode: s04e06 The Egyptian Decryption Caper, Season/Series 04 Spoilers, buckle up y'all, julethief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:06:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28805544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellalopez/pseuds/ellalopez
Summary: “jules, right?”it’s unsettling how similar carmen’s tone is to one of their first meetings; except this time, everything is wrong with the way she says her name. she doesn’t say it like it’s their secret, something only they understand, where julia isn’t just A.C.M.E agent julia argent butjules, the ancient history blogger and carmen’s friend. the thief steps closer, and julia can’t breathe, the rod of buzzing green electricity pointed at her face. “i believe we’ve met before.”“yes, we have,” she says firmly, jutting her chin up somewhat in defiance. “under very different circumstances, back when we were on the same side.”-OR, five times julia tries to save carmen, and the one time she does.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep, Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 36
Kudos: 266





	1. prologue

**CARMEN** struggles during her last moments as herself.

She fights to the end, biting on the gag and tugging uselessly at the metal restraints holding her down. She gets it now, she thinks, that saying about how your entire life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die. The device is lying tauntingly on the table, burning so blindingly green it’s almost white as Maelstrom and Dr. Bellum make their final tweaks.

All she can think about as they work is who she’s left behind.

There’s Player, who’s been with her from the moment he’d hacked into the island’s landline. He was the one who helped her start planning her escape from V.I.L.E Island. They were just kids, and he’d taken money from his own savings to book her a flight out of there and make her passport and IDs. A lump forms in her throat and she swallows, blinking away tears. It’s terrifyingly quiet without his voice in her ear, the two of them against the world.

She remembers Zack and Ivy next. Selfishly, she hopes they’re out there, miles past their belief that she can get herself out of anything and that they’re worried for her. She wasn’t going to get out of this one and be that invincible hero they thought she was. She aches at how much she misses them, their banter and their hugs and their utmost faith in her. _I’m sorry,_ she wants to tell them. _I’ve failed you guys._

Shadowsan follows after, of course. The closest thing she’d ever gotten to a father figure, watching out for her ever since he’d carried her out from her childhood house’s fire and brought her to the island. He’d been looking out for her from the beginning, giving her the means to choose her own destiny and forge her own path. He brought her back from the worst scrapes and supported her when she needed it, never once doubting her ability to lead. She knew the old man hated to admit it, ever the impassive, stoic ninja, but she knew he cared for her and loved her like family. She felt the same.

Julia is last. The woman who caught her attention the second they met on the train and she’d chosen (well, stolen, from Devineaux) the seat in front of her. Their instant connection and easy flowing conversation about history was exactly the break she needed from chasing Paper Star that day. She loved their meetings sprinkled throughout time and having each other’s back during missions; the simple but deep trust they had in each other was one of her favourite things about their relationship. She knew Julia’s apartment address like the back of her hand from dropping artifacts off and small tokens of her appreciation for the agent.

(The roses were a bold move, and Zack and Ivy had teased her relentlessly for it, but Julia seemed to like them and sent a message through Player of her thanks, so she had no regrets.)

She’d bumped into her one time, halfway down the apartment hallway and with her arms full of groceries. _What, you’re not going to help me carry these inside?_ Carmen didn’t hesitate and took them from her, leaving Julia flabbergasted as she protested weakly. _Carmen! I was kidding!_

That brought them to a new point of their relationship where Carmen learned the inside of Julia’s apartment, committing it to memory after every visit she made. Julia left the balcony doors unlocked, sometimes, and she’d swing in and hop onto the kitchen counter, dumping the artifacts on the couch. Flowers would be in tow when she could afford to get them, ranging anywhere from roses to carnations and orchids.

She wouldn’t get to do that again.

Knowing V.I.L.E, they’d eliminate every single person important to her in the next few hours, picking and rewiring her brain until evil was all she knew.

The thought breaks something in her, and she growls, teeth gnashing on the white fabric keeping her quiet. Maelstrom tuts and presses his fingers to her forehead, pushing her down as she kicks desperately. Dr. Bellum hums, the glowing device in her hands as she leans over her. Carmen thinks of hackers and Boston and ninjas and the Magna Carta and Jules and her _family_ as her world turns green.

_“Relax, my dear. This won’t hurt a bit.”_


	2. right where you left me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is like if 4x07 and 4x08 had a child but it was 10x more angsty and 10x gayer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \+ i made a [ carmen and julia playlist on spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0WjAWlxONApsSroaLMfeFr) because... Pain. (if you're listening while reading, start from promises for max suffering) :D
> 
> i will also be working with [ yyuppys on tumblr ](http://yyuppys.tumblr.com/) to bring this fic to life through her incredible fanart, so be on the lookout for that in later chapters!
> 
> i'm really looking forward to seeing the keyboard smashes in the comment section after i post this chapter ASDFGHJKL please go crazy if you feel like it i don't mind at all
> 
> alright. without further ado, here's chapter 1!

**THERE’S** something about the helicopter that’s getting on her nerves.

As top of their class, Carmen knows she shouldn’t be concerned over something so trivial- the vehicle was only for convenience, and the capers they pulled were what mattered. The destination, not the journey, right?

Still, that thought doesn’t stop her from eyeing it warily as her teammates get on board. The goat and his mole are singing obnoxiously, arms slung around each other. Sheena and Gray are in deep conversation, revising the details of their plan. Carmen thinks about taking her own ride off the island; V.I.L.E had boats and jets, and despite having experienced neither of them, some part of her feels much more comfortable with those ideas.

“Carmen! Let’s go!” Gray shouts, over the noise of the helicopter blades whirring. She grimaces, wanting to suggest the private jet- it’s their first caper, they shouldn’t be jumping out of a helicopter like idiots. They shouldn’t be getting on that helicopter at all.

_(This was going to go wrong. The Faculty would be so disappointed in her. They’d never let her leave the island again-)_

“Black Sheep! Hurry _up!”_ Sheena yells. _That_ gets her attention, and sends her concerns scattering.

“Call me that one more time, kitty, and we’ll see who has sharper claws.”

She’d chosen her new name and left her childhood name in the past. The world would know her as Carmen Sandiego, and she’d make sure of it.

Carmen spits at her as she passes, smirking as Sheena recoils in disgust. She climbs into the helicopter, hopping into the empty seat and kicking her legs onto the bench. Gray is standing, going through their equipment in the metal cabinet at the back. It swings open, and everything is familiar but not- the space feels smaller, more constricting, and she _knows_ they should’ve requested for the jet.

They take off. Uneasy, Carmen looks out the tinted windows until the castle becomes a speck in the distance. She double checks her tools, clips her comms to her ears, and glares like death at no one in particular.

“What’s got you so angry?” Gray laughs, leaning towards her with one arm propped up on his knee and the other twirling his crackle rod. He pokes her in the forehead where her scowl lines meet, and Carmen goes to bite at his finger.

Gray draws back immediately, barely dodging her teeth. This time it’s Carmen who laughs, lunging so she can mess up his hair. “Who says I’m angry?”

“Just the murderous glare you were sporting,” Gray says. He frowns, running his hand carefully through his hair to undo her damage.

“Yeah, well, that’s because we’re going to _kill it_ today,” she quips. “And someone has to scare off the cavalry if they arrive. Kitten here doesn’t have the guts.” Carmen tilts her head at where Sheena is sitting, examining her nails. She’s about to take out her claw sharpener and work at them when she catches them staring.

“What are you two looking at?” she snaps.

“Nothing,” Carmen singsongs. “Keep up your grooming, princess.”

Sheena snarls, her claws outstretched and moving so fast at her it’s a blur. Gray grabs her wrist firmly, one hand clawed and shaking in his grasp.

“Easy there, tiger. We have a job to do,” he warns. “Can’t be having cat fights and petty distractions during our first heist, can we? And Carmen,” he adds, turning to face her. “As amusing as it is seeing her get all riled up, the same goes for you. Don’t ruin this for us, please.”

“Whatever,” Sheena grouches.

“Fine,” Carmen mutters.

She spends the ride sulking under the wide brim of her hat, her thoughts unorganized. Her head had been muddled lately, and Dr. Bellum had promised her that they’d fix it soon. Perhaps the thrill of thievery would cheer her up and help clear her head when they got to Vienna. Picturing their imminent success is enough to get her to smile, and her lips curl wickedly.

Shadowsan may have attempted to fail her, but he had defected and fled like a coward; he was a _nobody_. It wasn’t a surprise that the Faculty dismissed the grade, acknowledging her talent and permitting her to graduate. V.I.L.E had no use for traitors, while she was a few capers away from securing his old seat.

Yes, this would be fine indeed.

~*~

Julia gets the call the next day, her A.C.M.E issued work phone ringing obnoxiously loud from her nightstand. It’s her day off, or supposed to be, anyway- she was to be contacted for backup only when necessary. The afternoon sun streams through her balcony doors, casting her bed in warmth, and she rolls over, sighing. She’s not expecting much from the call; it’s been three weeks since she’s last seen and heard from Carmen Sandiego, and it was likely a false sighting from A.C.M.E.'s rookie agents. She had learned not to get her hopes up by week two.

“It’s Agent Argent,” she greets tiredly, placing the phone on speaker. Her nap was refreshing while it lasted. Rubbing at her eyes, she reaches blindly for her glasses and adjusts them on her face. Frantic voices crackle over the phone, and Julia inhales sharply at what she can make out.

“We found her,” Chase is saying, and there’s more commotion, the agents working their weekend shifts scrambling to get a team together. Someone yells to call Chief, and Julia is frozen when she should be out of bed, on her way to meet them. “La Femme Rouge is back, Miss Argent.”

“Where is she?” she manages to ask, heart pounding in her chest.

“CrimeNet data and photos of a large aircraft approaching country borders indicate that she will be in Vienna this evening, possibly 1 AM or later. The car is on its way, and the coordinates of the private plane’s location is already pre-programmed into the GPS. I will see you at the airport.”

The line goes dead, plunging the room into a tense silence. Julia snaps out of her shock and searches for her suit, leaving her tie undone as she tugs on her boots. She grabs her keys and the communicator pen and heads outside, locking the door with a click.

As she walks briskly to her apartment complex’s parking lot, the thought of the crimson thief burns in her mind. She was alive and _safe_ , presumably. Had her team heard about this?

When she gets into the waiting car, she texts the message chain Player set up for her to contact them after Egypt. She nods at the driver, and they roll up the partition so she’s left by herself in the backseat.

 **Julia** : Carmen’s back.

_Player is typing…_

**Player:** Apparently so. We just got the same pictures you guys did. I also found more from other angles and zoomed in, and the helicopter’s owned by V.I.L.E. _(1 image attached. 1.7 MB,_ _tap to download._ _)_

 **Player:** Kind of torn between relief that she’s back and the foreboding feeling of impending doom.

 **Julia:** I completely understand where you’re coming from; I feel the same. A.C.M.E hadn’t mentioned anything about V.I.L.E being involved, and now you have me worried. Do you think she’s alright?

 **Player:** Right when she dropped off the radar, Shadowsan took a trip to where her comms last pinged her. He discovered this, lying in the dirt- the photo locket Carmen always keeps with her. _(1 image attached. 2.1 MB,_ _tap to download._ _)_

 **Julia:** Pardon my French, but _fuck_. This is bad, isn’t it. Is there any way for us to intercept the helicopter?

 **Player:** No judgement here. The F-bomb is accurate. As for the helicopter, there’s one more thing I have to tell you. Before her comms got disrupted and we lost the tracking on her, the Cleaners- you’ve met them, the operatives in janitor outfits- they said she “belonged to V.I.L.E, now.” That means that she’s on the helicopter, but she won’t be alone. It’ll be crawling with operatives. They’ve been wanting to pin her down and control her for years, and we (me, Ivy, Zack, and Shadowsan) all fear that they may have succeeded. In conclusion: No, we can’t intercept the helicopter, and no, she’s… not alright.

The phone clatters to her lap, a hand flying over her mouth. It shouldn’t be shocking information, but this was _Carmen._ They couldn’t lose her.

 **Julia:** We can save her.

Not a question, but a statement. The phone buzzes as the airport comes into view.

 **Player:** That’s the goal. We’ll do whatever we can. I booked a flight for the crew while we were texting, and they should be in Vienna ASAP. I trust you’ll get the details to Chief so we can coordinate?

 **Julia:** I will. Thank you, Player. Stay safe.

 **Player:** You too, Jules. Anything for Carmen’s favourite agent.

 _It’s Julia,_ she starts to type, but his activity icon goes offline before she can correct him.

~*~

The flight to Vienna is efficient, exactly as Julia expected. To her, however, time seems to crawl at a snail’s pace. She paces up and down the aisle of the plane, running through every scenario of what might happen as their flight cuts through the sky. Chase is asleep, mask over his eyes and nose twitching as he snores. Zari, ever the hard worker, sits on the opposite side of the plane, fingers flying across her keyboard as she types up an outline for their reports.

Julia resumes her thinking and pacing, ignoring the annoyed look Zari is giving her. She entertains the idea of Carmen being okay, and it soothes her, if only for a moment.

_Carmen tipping her hat at her from the rooftops, her coat fluttering in the wind._

_Carmen finding her in the museum and saying hello, the two of them making plans to catch up over coffee._

_Carmen explaining her absence and-_

Julia stops herself there, scolding her own thoughts. Carmen didn’t owe her anything, even in the small chance she was miraculously unscarred; she’d tell her what had happened if she wanted to. All she could hope for was that Carmen wouldn’t disappear into the night for three more weeks.

Quietly, the plane descends onto the A.C.M.E owned runway, the airport stretching for miles and isolated from the main city. Zari shakes Chase awake, ripping the sleep mask off his face. She’s aggressive, but it does the trick, the French man leaping up from his seat. None of them waste any time collecting what they need for the mission; their non-lethal weapons, communication devices, and their personal electronics. They wouldn’t be staying in Vienna, so there were no suitcases to be brought to hotels. If they were able to detain Carmen, they would have to return as soon as possible. The plane would remain parked until they needed it.

(Detaining her isn’t on Julia’s list, though. If it came to it, she’d probably look the other way and let her go. She was never truly interested in catching her.)

“Julia, do you have the museum location and the plan?” Chase asks, the three of them now squished into the back of an A.C.M.E van. Zari hangs up her muffled phone call with Chief and shoots him an exasperated look.

“It was in the briefing,” she says. Chase coughs in embarrassment, scratching his head gingerly.

“The briefing! Yes, of course!”

An awkward silence follows. Zari crosses her arms, and Julia nudges him, taking pity on him. “We’ve been ordered to get food to eat, then it’ll be in the encrypted email in our inboxes. You know, I’ve been meaning to try one of the national dishes of Austria, the Wienerschnitzel.”

“It’s not my favourite,” Zari comments, just as Chase chimes in with a “Food sounds lovely, that is a fantastic idea, Julia!”

“I appreciate that, Agent Devineaux,” she chuckles. “A restaurant is in the next block of the neighbourhood; we can eat there and then get prepared for the mission.”

At the restaurant, they reserve a booth, and Julia excuses herself to make a call. After ensuring no one is listening in, she darts behind the brick walls of the building and flicks her pen to the ground. 

“Agent Argent,” Chief nods, her hologram wavering.

“Good evening, Chief. I’ll get straight to the news: Team Red- Carmen’s team,” she clarifies, “Will be at the museum as well tonight. I thought I’d let you know beforehand so they don’t get accidentally arrested for caring about their friend.”

“I’ll inform the team, Agent. To confirm- don’t apprehend the redheads?”

 _Their names are Zack and Ivy,_ she almost says, but decides against it. She didn’t want to compromise anyone else’s safety.

“Don’t apprehend the redheads,” she agrees. 

~*~

Hours later, the sun dips below the horizon, melting into the moon. Packing up and folding her glider into her coat, Carmen surveys the museum from the roof, binoculars in hand.

“Everyone in position?” she asks, bored and itching to begin.

“Ready to pounce,” Sheena says, perched on the edge of her roof.

“Aye-aye,” Jean and Antonio chorus, reporting from underground.

Gray unplugs the electrical box, effectively disabling the security systems, and he grins in affirmation.

“Let’s rock this thing.”

~*~

“The two of you should resume this perimeter check while I gain access to the interior,” Julia instructs. Chief had put her in charge, and she intended to make the most of that privilege. The street is quiet, deserted except for the three of them and some agents spread out in cars.

“Understood,” Zari says, directing Chase past a monument and down the street.

Julia sneaks in the museum, her gas gun hidden behind her back. She crosses the room slowly, careful to stick to the shadows. She knows she won’t use the gun, Carmen playfully disarming her before she can activate the trigger, but it is protocol to have some sort of defense on hand.

She sees the bright red of her coat first.

It knocks the breath out of her, seeing her up close again, the girl who’d risked it all to save her. Everything about her vys for her attention; her hat sitting askew on her hair, her boots scuffing the tiles. Carmen was real, and she was _back._

She can tell when Carmen notices her from the way she pauses, jewelry dangling from her gloved fist. She doesn’t even glance up when she speaks, tapping on Julia’s reflection in the display glass with her free hand.

“Oh, _hello._ What’s a pretty thing like you doing here?” she purrs, borderline seductive.

Julia freezes. Of every reunion she’d dreamed of, _this_ wasn’t one of them. She averts her gaze uncomfortably and moves backward, the gas gun pressing into her palm. _Her_ Carmen was charming and sweet, never... this.

“Carmen?” she asks, worry gnawing at her. It was jarring, to say the least. Something felt _off,_ and she prayed it didn’t have anything to do with what she and Player had discussed earlier.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” The thief all but snaps at her, vibrant auburn hair falling in her eyes, angry and dark and narrowed. “Look, you’re pretty, but if you’re _smart,_ you’ll leave me alone.”

She continues on stealing the artifacts, and Julia feels her mouth go dry.

 _Carmen didn’t recognize her_.

Her blood runs cold as she connects the dots- the three week radio silence, how furious V.I.L.E must’ve been after they’d turned the pyramid’s riches over to Egypt’s authorities…

_What had they done to her?_

“Carmen,” she tries again, her shaky voice carrying in the dark of the museum. “Don’t you remember me?”

“I’d remember a face like yours, trust me,” Carmen says, smooth as ever, which only scares her further. She’s almost finished now, the duffel bag on her shoulder filled to the brim with sparkling gems and jewels.

“Listen, I’m your _friend! Jules!”_ she pleads, desperation creeping in. This couldn’t be happening. She was being selfish, she knew that, but they’d _just_ reconnected last month, falling back into their rhythm so easily. She’d shut the blinds as they talked in her office, knowing how Carmen valued privacy and how she valued her safety. Carmen had smiled softly at her when she’d agreed to help _(as if she would ever say no to her)_. They’d built what she thought was a steady partnership and most importantly, they were _friends,_ looking out for each other.

And yet, bringing up the nickname to Carmen doesn’t seem to faze her. There’s no witty reply or any hint of recognition.

Julia’s heart breaks, cracking down the middle when the thief finally responds.

“The only Jules I care to befriend are the kind right over there,” she snorts, sauntering over to the next display. A gold crown sits on the velvet red stand, shining in the low light, and Carmen takes out her glass cutter, drawing a neat circle.

“Carmen, _please_. You have to remember,” she begs, willing herself not to cry. The second the glass opens, Julia makes the mistake of getting too close, going for the crown at the same time Carmen does.

Their fingertips brush, and Julia can’t linger on it because she needs to take the crown and _go-_

Carmen snatches it from her, shoving it into the remaining space of her bag. Julia’s instincts kick in and she lands a punch to her waist, allowing her to seize the crown once more. Stunned that she’d actually hit her, Carmen drops the bag, and Julia grabs that too. As she runs, searching for the exit, she bites the inside of her cheek and tastes metallic blood. She hates every minute of this, the fact that she’d hurt Carmen making her sick. 

_The gas gun, Argent!_ She can practically hear Chief screaming in her ear. She fumbles with it, digging into her pocket- she feels for the handle, trigger, _where was the on switch-_

She doesn’t get the chance to press it, the gas gun pried from her hands and a red cloaked body slamming into her, sending them both crashing to the floor. The crown and the bag nearly go sailing in the air, but Julia keeps her grip firm. Carmen _growls_ and lifts her by the waist, tossing her aside like a rag doll. Julia throws the crown into the hallway, and thanks her jacket and the bag for somewhat cushioning the blow- but everything still hurts, aching for a different reason.

“Don’t do this,” she gasps, pushing herself up with her forearms. “You’re not what they made you, Carmen.”

“Aren’t I, though? I’m V.I.L.E’s star student and _this_ close-” She kneels to Julia’s level and holds up her chin with her right hand, her left hand’s thumb and index finger pinched so they’re touching- “To making the Faculty, so be a good little agent and back off.”

Julia blinks, words caught in her throat. She can’t see too well either, her glasses having stopped beside Carmen’s heel. She wrenches away from her gloved hand and scrambles on her knees for her glasses, but Carmen beats her to it. She doesn’t hesitate in stabbing her boot on the lenses, shattering them into pieces.

“Sorry about that, darling,” she laughs, not apologetic in the slightest. “You bluecoats really should hire more capable workers.”

Red and blue lights flash outside, signalling their backup, and Julia slumps in defeat. By the time they entered, the place would be spotless and V.I.L.E-free. Carmen strolls to where the crown is and takes it and the duffel bag easily, winking over her shoulder.

“Shame it had to end like this, Jules. I think I might have liked you.”

There’s a whoosh of her grappling hook, and then she’s gone.

Julia doesn’t stop shaking until Chase and Zari find her, crying empty tears for the girl she used to know and was too late to save.


End file.
